Search found 324 matches

by HouseStark
Sat Mar 23, 2013 2:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Line items on Schedule B
Replies: 23
Views: 3837

Re: Line items on Schedule B

All I do is match what the 1099 says. I get a 1099 from TDAmeritrade that says "First Clearing" is the payor, so I put First Clearing on the tax form. Actually, TurboTax puts FirstClearing on the tax form. Many brokerage account 1099s show a clearing agent as the payer, such as First Clearing, Pershing, or National Financial Services. The Schedule B line instructions say to list the "name of the payer," but in the left hand margin of the form it says to list the name of the brokerage firm as payer. Both methods are commonly used and I've never known the IRS to send out a notice questioning the payer name so apparently they are able to match the two. I believe that when it says to list the name of the "brokerage fir...
by HouseStark
Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: cpa costs
Replies: 5
Views: 922

Re: cpa costs

Having a rental property could mean a wide range of varying complexity in what is involved in the tax returns. What type of property? What gross income are you talking about? How organized are the financial records you provide? Does the CPA have to sort through a jumble of receipts to sort it out? Are there a lot of capital asset transactions? $1350 seems pretty pricey, but without knowing more details that's just conjecture. Do you really need the CPA level of fees that you are being billed for? There are probably highly qualified tax preparers, such as Enrolled Agents, that deal with your type of returns all the time, but they may have fees that are lower than many CPAs. CPAs who do higher level returns for individuals, businesses and tru...
by HouseStark
Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Property tax deduction allocation
Replies: 14
Views: 2616

Re: Property tax deduction allocation

MBMiner wrote:A general principle in the tax law is that you can't deduct expense which are the obligation of another. If it were otherwise, you would have the person in the highest tax bracket make the payment for the greatest tax benefit. The IRC doesn't work that way.
Bruce
I don't see how that principle applies here if the property is owned by both parties. The two owners are jointly liable for the property taxes, not just a share, so the obligation belongs to each.
by HouseStark
Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is there a mistake on my W-2? What to do?
Replies: 5
Views: 887

Re: Is there a mistake on my W-2? What to do?

You should be able to reconcile your year-end pay statement with your W-2. Was the $5000 for the FSA medical actually deducted over the course of the year? You should try to make sense of it, but your payroll department or human resources would be the ones to explain.
by HouseStark
Sat Mar 09, 2013 3:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Banking Billpay question?
Replies: 2
Views: 641

Re: Banking Billpay question?

In my experience using Wells Fargo online bill paying, the bank does not send paper checks whenever possible. My bill payments to credit card companies, other lenders and utilities are all being sent electronically. They can do that because I have signed the recipients up as vendors that Wells Fargo has a relationship with, and I've provided my vendor account number so my payment is credited to the correct account. Thousands of Wells customers pay bills with these same vendors so it just makes for cost efficiency for the payments to be done electronically. They don't want to send paper checks when it can all be done electronically. I don't have to try any special jiggering with routing numbers.
by HouseStark
Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Health Savings Account
Replies: 13
Views: 2224

Re: Health Savings Account

My HSA provider is Select Account. Amounts under $3000 must be kept in the basic account earning miniscule interest, but with no account fee. Amounts over $3000 can optionally be transferred to an investment account with about a dozen name-brand mutual funds. The investment account has a fee of $1.50/mo, plus there are the usual fund expense ratios. I'm satisfied with the account and the online interface works well for transactions such as requesting direct deposit reimbursements, for transfers to the investment account and for portfolio reallocation. I'd recommend them as an HSA provider, with the caveat that I haven't shopped around to make comparisons since my employer chose it and makes contributions on my behalf. I've hit a balance of ...
by HouseStark
Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Looking for pharmacist jobs with a criminal background
Replies: 28
Views: 6946

Re: Looking for pharmacist jobs with a criminal background

If an employer can be authorized to do a background check, then an individual must be able to do the same background check on themself by using one of those companies providing such a service. As a starting point, I think your friend would want to know exactly what information potential employers would see as a result of such a background check. Also, doesn't working as a pharmacist require some sort of federal narcotics license because of access to controlled substances?

I don't have any background in pharmacy to know anything more about the implications of a possible police record, but doing his own background check would seem to be a place to start.
by HouseStark
Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Was I supposed to file form 8949?
Replies: 11
Views: 1772

Re: Was I supposed to file form 8949?

Probably nothing will happen to you, but the IRS could flag your return as being wrong and notify you about the discrepancy. If your tax return is wrong, then you should correct it anyway, as has been suggested. Review your tax return with someone who actually knows something about taxes. It would be good for you to know that foreign income is not automatically exempt from US taxation. Under the right circumstances, foreign earned income (income from a job), may be exempt up to a limit, but but for US citizens foreign investment income is NOT exempt from US taxation. You could be under the filing limit or the level of having any tax liability, but your investment income would not be exempt just from being earned outside the US.
by HouseStark
Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Was I supposed to file form 8949?
Replies: 11
Views: 1772

Re: Was I supposed to file form 8949?

You could start by going to irs.gov and looking for the Free File link. Pick a provider, input your information and answer the interview questions and see where that gets you.

How did you get to the point of having a variety of sources of investment income and yet not knowing anything about income taxes? If you're going to be in that situation, you really should know something about the tax implications.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do "miscellaneous wages" qualify me for Roth IRA?
Replies: 6
Views: 1026

Re: Do "miscellaneous wages" qualify me for Roth IRA?

I don't know exactly what you mean by "miscellaneous wages", but if you 're talking about making something up and putting it on your tax return, then of course, no, you can't do that. That would be filing a false tax return.

You're really that concerned about getting a Roth contribution that you'd contemplate that? That seems to be a misplaced priority.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax preparer turning sour
Replies: 22
Views: 2777

Re: tax preparer turning sour

I don't know for certain whether your tax preparer is giving you bad service or not, but there needs to be some mutual understanding about what service you can come to expect. Tax preparation and tax planning are overlapping services, but I don't think it's realistic to expect a tax preparer in the busiest time of the year can devote a lot of time to going over "what-if" scenarios for the 2013 tax year. Certainly your tax preparer should arrive at the best possible outcome for your current tax returns, whether that is determining the best education tax benefit or determining your eligibility for Earned Income Credit. If he can't figure that, or isn't asking the right questions, then he's not doing a good job. But what about your p...
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 23, 2013 5:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: foreign tax credit / income / turbotax
Replies: 19
Views: 3638

Re: foreign tax credit / income / turbotax

If you file Form 1116 (needed for foreign tax over $300 single/$600 joint), your foreign tax credit is the lesser of the foreign tax you actually paid, or the percentage of your US tax that was imposed on income taxed by the foreign country. If you are this position of having no more than $300/$600 in foreign taxes paid, then you can just put all of the dividends paid as foreign dividends and avoid the needlessly tracking down the actual amount of foreign dividends. I don't know TT, but it should either automatically take the foreign tax credit without filing Form 1116 or ask whether you want to not file Form 1116, if not required, which you should opt to do (not file 1116, that is). Knowing these rules helps you to know what the software ...
by HouseStark
Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use (lower) standard deduction with AMT?
Replies: 7
Views: 868

Re: Use (lower) standard deduction with AMT?

In addition to the considerations already described, is there any impact on state income tax to consider? ? Some states, such as Minnesota, use federal taxable income as the starting point for determining state taxable income, so not using itemized deductions to lower federal taxable income could have a negative impact on state income tax.
by HouseStark
Mon Feb 18, 2013 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2012 Roth IRA deadline vs 2013 Roth IRA starting date
Replies: 13
Views: 2205

Re: 2012 Roth IRA deadline vs 2013 Roth IRA starting date

The only reason I can think of that you would need to amend your 2012 return would be if your Roth contribution affected any other IRA contributions, meaning if you had already put a Traditional IRA contribution on the return, or if your Roth contribution made you eligible for a Retirement Savings tax credit. If you used software, then put the planned Roth contribution in and see what happens. If those things don't apply, then there is not only no reason to amend the return, there is simply nothing to change in an amend.
by HouseStark
Mon Feb 18, 2013 8:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 2012 Roth IRA deadline vs 2013 Roth IRA starting date
Replies: 13
Views: 2205

Re: 2012 Roth IRA deadline vs 2013 Roth IRA starting date

Vanguard will ask which year you want your contribution to be credited to. If you are eligible to contribute the amount for 2012, then you should do that. That way you will still have your full 2013 eligibility for the future.

Since you are talking about a Roth contribution it is not reportable on your 2012 tax return, so there would be no reason to amend your return.

Tax software does ask about Roth contributions but that is only to advise on eligibility to contribute and to help you track your contributions.
by HouseStark
Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TTax 1099-DIV ZERO Reporting
Replies: 11
Views: 1026

Re: TTax 1099-DIV ZERO Reporting

Just because you see a "zero" showing on your TT forms view or print does not necessarily mean that the e-file transmittal actually contains those "zeroes". I have no knowledge of the hidden workings of TT, but that may be the case, so attempting to remove them may be pointless.
by HouseStark
Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Whole Dollar Rounding on Tax Forms
Replies: 41
Views: 12399

Re: Whole Dollar Rounding on Tax Forms

I deal with many IRS notices for tax clients, including the CP2000 notices which are generated by the automated matching system, which flags discrepancies between tax return numbers and those reported on W-2s, 1099s and the like, and I've never seen one that had anything to do with reporting differences caused by rounding. When the IRS reports 1099 numbers on a notice it does so only to the nearest dollar and it doesn't really round, it just drops everything after the decimal. That is $74.05 and $74.95 are both reported as $74. It seems it should be of little concern when preparing taxes in actual practice.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Rental property - Deductions
Replies: 5
Views: 784

Re: Rental property - Deductions

You are saying "move out", by which I assume you mean convert the unit you were living in from personal use to rental property.

If so, you are correct that your improvement costs will be added to your original purchase cost that was allocated to that unit. That gives your a higher basis for that future "deduction", or depreciation, to use the proper term. Since it sounds like you are new to the rental property business, you should take a look at the IRS Pub 527 on that subject. It will introduce some of those concepts and terminology.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Contribute to Roth after filing taxes
Replies: 3
Views: 861

Re: Contribute to Roth after filing taxes

Alan S. wrote:The IRS does have a matching program, but in the past it has been inefficient. Many people have excess contributions that are several years old and therefore owe 6% excise taxes for each year. If you enter your Roth contribution into the tax software, it will tell you if you have an excess contribution or not and may ask what you intend to do about it, even though the contribution will not be reported on your tax return.
I think the IRS is equally deficient in determining when IRA contributions have been deducted on a tax return, but the contributions have never actually been made. I know this has occurred among our tax clients, for both Traditional IRAs and for SEPs, and I've not encountered an IRS notice pointing out the error.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Contribute to Roth after filing taxes
Replies: 3
Views: 861

Re: Contribute to Roth after filing taxes

Many IRA custodians will send accountholders a Form 5498 in January or February. I have seen this for Fidelity IRAs already this year. If they choose to do so most likely that is only a provisional version that the custodian does not actually submit to the IRS, since it would be subject to change. The custodian would likely wait until after the April 15th contribution deadline to finalize their Forms 5498 before they make their transmittal to the IRS.
by HouseStark
Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1040 X refiling
Replies: 2
Views: 640

Re: 1040 X refiling

If you are subject to a state income tax, you could often be required to also file an amended state return for that year, if the state tax would also be affected. It would not always be required since some changes you make on an amended 1040 would not result in changes to your state income tax. In that case, you may not be required to file an amended state return. In cases where the federal amend does affect the state return, you are usually REQUIRED to file an amended state return within a certain period of time. Consult your state revenue department for the applicable forms and rules.
by HouseStark
Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:58 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Back Door Roth IRA/Distribution Code
Replies: 6
Views: 2436

Re: Back Door Roth IRA/Distribution Code

Distribution code "2" is correct. If this results in your tax software showing the entire distribution as taxable, that's probably because you're not doing it correctly. You need to make sure the program has information on your IRA basis. If you each put in $5000 as non-deduction contributions during 2012, then there is somewhere to input that information.

You didn't state whether you or wife had any other IRAs other than the ones you opened with these 2012 contributions. That could be a whole other issue.

If you want specific help on inputting things in your software, then it would help if you would say what it is.
by HouseStark
Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax question [How to report 1099-MISC income vs. losses]
Replies: 4
Views: 1073

Re: tax question

If you already were claiming itemized deductions on Schedule A, instead of claiming the standard deduction, then this should not be an issue. The full amount of gambling winnings income could be cancelled out by the miscellaneous deduction for gambling losses. If you did not itemize your deductions, then you may only get a partial or even no benefit from the gambling losses deduction, depending on how far below the standard deduction amount amount you were before the gambling losses deduction was added.

Even with just the $1000 in additional gambling income to claim, you should still amend the return. Before you do so, make sure there are no other pieces of unreported income that will pop up.
by HouseStark
Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: tax question [How to report 1099-MISC income vs. losses]
Replies: 4
Views: 1073

Re: tax question

Are you saying that you did not include either of the $2000 or $1000 gambling winnings on your 2012 tax return? If so, you definitely should file an amended return. Take care of it now instead waiting to get the IRS notice several months down the road.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Turbotax problem please help!!!
Replies: 5
Views: 1466

Re: Turbotax problem please help!!!

I don't know Turbotax, but the issue might be related to your residency status. Make sure you are being considered as a part-year resident of each state and not as a NY resident who earned income in MD. So, TT should be generating two part-year resident state returns.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Saving Old Refi Packets
Replies: 5
Views: 856

Re: Saving Old Refi Packets

As far as any of the information relates to anything on your tax returns, it should be retained for seven years, or until the financed property is sold and that tax return year is at least three years old. Tax return items: if you deducted or amortized purchase or refi mortgage points, if you need to establish that mortgage interest was deductible for both regular and AMT, if the statements document items that are included in the cost basis of the property. So, pretty much forever to be safe.
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 09, 2013 6:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: American Opportunity Tax Credit
Replies: 10
Views: 3444

Re: American Opportunity Tax Credit

If look at the current Form 8863, which is used to claim the AOTC, it asks whether the student has CLAIMED the AOTC and Hope Credit combined for more than 3 years. It can be used up to four times, even if the student only goes half-time and takes more time than that. I wouldn't worry about whether the student is a senior or not. Also, even if a student completes a four-year program in the standard time, the student could commonly still have expenses in five calendar years. If a student is a graduating senior in the spring of 2013, they could have started in the fall of 2009. That's five different tax years, but only four of those could use the AOTC. As far as being a graduate student after under four years of using AOTC, the 1098-T has a bo...
by HouseStark
Sat Feb 09, 2013 6:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: American opportunity tax credit calculations
Replies: 13
Views: 2699

Re: American opportunity tax credit calculations

It's not unreasonable to use the 1098-T figures, but they are often wrong, so it's good to have an understanding of what you are paying. It shouldn't be that difficult to obtain and review an actual account statement from the institution. The statement should show what was billed and what was paid when, and whether it was qualified expenses such as tuition and fees, or whether it was other.
by HouseStark
Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: If you don't owe any income tax, are you supposed to file?
Replies: 10
Views: 1688

Re: If you don't owe any income tax, are you supposed to fil

As has been pointed out, not owing income tax does not necessarily equate to not being required to file a return. In any case, I think filing a tax return anyway is a good idea, even if not required. If you are in the income range of not having any tax, there is a good chance that you would qualify for free online e-filing. Go to irs.gov and look for links to free filing. Did I mention it's free?
by HouseStark
Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?
Replies: 20
Views: 7571

Re: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?

HouseStark I think you missed the point of my post. I don't believe it is possible for the sum of the two state incomes on the w2 to exceed the total income in your example. In your example the w2 would show $65000 of total state income .... not possible if the total earned was only $60000. There is a difference between where it is earned/reported on the w2 and where/how it is taxed. I agree that some income (in your example) is taxable in both states and that some non resident filing is certainly in order, and most likely there will be some reciprocity and appropriate credits (either income or tax). I'm not challenging WHAT is taxable to MN, only how the w2 should be prepared. So my post indicates the w2 in this example should be correcte...
by HouseStark
Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A tax question [Filing status - Which is better]
Replies: 14
Views: 2678

Re: A tax question

Just be careful though, I heard that once you file as Married Joint , you can never go back to filing as Married Separate . I'm not yet married so I don't have first hand experience with this but this is what was told to me so just be careful. Most of my coworkers who are married suggest to file Married separate because of this reason but I'm sure it's subjective based on your unique situation. As has been pointed out, that is incorrect. What probably got distorted somewhere along the way in what the OP heard is the rule that after a return has been filed with Married Filing Jointly for a given year, the MFJ return cannot be AMENDED to Married Filing Separately status after the due date for the original return. Returns originally filed as ...
by HouseStark
Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?
Replies: 20
Views: 7571

Re: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?

I don't think it is possible for someone to be in two states at the same time. In the Sven example, the $5k was earned in IL, not in MN. The MN income earned in that state is $55k. If the employer issued an incorrect w2, the employer needs to issue a corrected w2 (w2c). You are correct that is not possible to be in two states at the same time, but that is irrelevant. As a resident of MN, in this example, ALL income that Sven earns ANYWHERE is subject to MN taxation, unless it is specifically exempted, which it would not be in this case. This is simply how income taxation works. That is different from actually changing residency and tax home to a different state. Sven did not cease his MN residency. He just worked temporarily in IL. If Sven...
by HouseStark
Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?
Replies: 20
Views: 7571

Re: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?

So you are saying that if you add the MN state income and CO state income it exceeds your federal income? That is very odd. (If this is not the case, then I would double check the assumption you were "double taxed"). Point this out to your employer - they should definitely fix the W-2 (which would apply for both states). I would say that on a W-2 that reports income for more than one state it is not be unusual for the state incomes to add up to more than the federal income. The reason for that is when someone is a resident of a state, say MN, the employer reports all of that person's income to that state, but that person could also work in another state for that same employer. In that case, the employer would report the income ea...
by HouseStark
Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Deleted
Replies: 20
Views: 6839

Re: Need EIN from closed daycare, how to find?

Did the day care place have any employees? If it did, and you knew any of them, you could ask one of them, since the EIN would be on their W-2. It's a long shot, but it's an idea.
by HouseStark
Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?
Replies: 20
Views: 7571

Re: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?

Getting a corrected W-2 would be the best option.
by HouseStark
Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?
Replies: 20
Views: 7571

Re: Income tax withheld for wrong state, how to file?

If you moved before you started earning those paychecks, then you are correct that you should have no earned income for MN, even though state taxes were withheld. The correct thing to do would be to file a part-year resident return for MN and a part-resident return for CO that correctly allocate the income earned in each state. Any state tax withholdings would be applied to the respective state tax liability, if any. The problem with this may be that MN may not want to agree with your assertion that the MN income which is presumably being reported on your W-2 is, in fact, not MN income. So, the less troublesome course of action may be to simply report on the MN tax return the MN income which is reported on your W-2 and report the CO income ...
by HouseStark
Mon Feb 04, 2013 1:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 25% Amica Homeowners Premium Increase
Replies: 28
Views: 6820

Re: 25% Amica Homeowners Premium Increase

In addition to the investment environment, HO insurance premiums are also strongly influenced by other factors, often highly local, such as losses paid, the competition and the regulatory environment, so comparing your situation to others without knowing where those homes are located is limited in significance. I switched from AAA to State Farm in Minnesota after seeing a premium increase coming up, but other factors such as auto insurance bundling played a big part.
by HouseStark
Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Tax Consequences] Backdoor Roth IRA
Replies: 2
Views: 506

Re: [Tax Consequences] Backdoor Roth IRA

I concur. You can see how this works by looking at Form 8606 and its instructions. Form 8606 is where the taxable vs. non-taxable allocation of IRA distributions with non-deductible basis is determined, for Roth conversions or otherwise. Form 8606 is only an individual form.
by HouseStark
Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stock Grant tax question
Replies: 6
Views: 759

Re: Stock Grant tax question

If you did not report the sales made for withholding, then that was an omission. But since those were zero capital gain/loss transactions, or very near so, that is not a big concern. If the IRS has not raised the issue I don't think it is worth amending prior year tax returns to correct it. You did not misstate income, rather some details were omitted, but omission does not effect the basis of the remaining shares now. Most importantly, and without any help from you, the stock grant income was reported, since it was on your W-2s for those years. The income reported was from the stock grants vesting - the proceeds from the sales of shares sold to cover taxes was not reported. If the stock has appreciated since the vesting dates, then you can...
by HouseStark
Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax Filing Question [DIY or Use Tax Preparation Service?]
Replies: 4
Views: 496

Re: Tax Filing Question [DIY or Use Tax Preparation Service?

I'm choosing not to get into your question of how you should best prepare your taxes. I do have one point. You stated that even with interest, points and property taxes you won't end up with more than the standard deductions. That's not that uncommon, especially when buying a home later in the year so that less mortgage interest ends up getting paid. Definitely double-check before you determine that is the case for certain, but if you do determine that, keep in mind that you have the option of deducting points over the life of your mortgage. If your points are qualified to deduct, but it provides no benefit to deduct them in the year paid (year of sale), then you have the option of deducting them ratably over the life of the mortgage. This ...
by HouseStark
Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stock Grant tax question
Replies: 6
Views: 759

Re: Stock Grant tax question

You are asking about accounting for these transactions, but according to your description, there would have been a portion of the share grant vesting for the past four years. Also according to your statement, each of those vesting steps included a sale of a portion of the shares for withheld taxes. What happened with those four sales? Did they get included on Schedule D for those years? Each one of those was reportable as a stock sale, even if it was a zero gain/loss transaction and even if it was not reported on a 1099-B. A different aspect of those transactions is the actual stock grant income. The income from the stock grant should have been included in your W-2 income for each of those vesting periods. The inclusion of the income at ves...
by HouseStark
Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is form 8606 TIRA basis lost after backdoor roth?
Replies: 4
Views: 2044

Re: Is form 8606 TIRA basis lost after backdoor roth?

I'm not going to assert that logic pervades the workings of the tax system, but it makes sense to me that the basis would be lost when the IRA is zeroed out. The basis would seem to be tied to the existing Traditional IRA balance before distribution and when all TIRA balances were zeroed out through the conversion distribution the basis also goes. As Alan S. points out it is possible for the loss to be claimed from a Sched A misc itemized deduction. Whether or not that deduction is of any benefit due to the 2% floor is another matter, but since there is a potential benefit I can see how that would lead to the basis not carrying over. There are other cases of potentially beneficial tax attributes that simply go away or cannot be utilized. Th...
by HouseStark
Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax Question Foreign Tax credit
Replies: 22
Views: 3548

Re: TurboTax Question Foreign Tax credit

not familiar w/ TT but I'm guessing the reason it is not sensitive to your foreign source income input is that your foreign tax of $80 is less than the "free ride" cutoff of $300/individual or $600/couple MFJ. Above that cutoff, you have to fill in the full F1116 but below that, you just enter the foreign tax on the credit section of the 1040 (no foreign income input required) I agree with this. If the amount of foreign tax credit you are claiming is below those limits, then there is no need for the foreign dividend income information to be determined and input, because the Form 1116 should not be generated, or included with the return. The only reason I can think it would be is if there was a Foreign Tax Credit carryover from a ...
by HouseStark
Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schedule K-1 and carrying forward a loss?
Replies: 11
Views: 6558

Re: Schedule K-1 and carrying forward a loss?

I am not sure that losses can be distributed to a K-1 at all. The way I understand it, the K-1 distributes income and capital gains from the trust. Losses are kept within the trust, aren't they? That way, there's less to distribute. If the trust has a loss, there's nothing to distribute to the K-1. But the losses are carried over in the 1041 forms for a trust. Do you file a 1041 for the trust? If not, then I guess I don't understand. But if you do, the carryover losses can be tracked on the 1041 and 1041 Schedule D. OP never said anything about a trust. The K-1s in question are from a business of a type not specified, but which would be either a partnership or a S-corp. Anyway, a tax pro makes sense. Very few people have the knowledge and ...
by HouseStark
Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Schedule K-1 and carrying forward a loss?
Replies: 11
Views: 6558

Re: Schedule K-1 and carrying forward a loss?

K-1s can report various types of income and losses for the entities. You should be more specific about what type of losses these are, meaning what lines of the K-1 are you talking about? Also, is that the only line of the K-1s that has information? Is there any interest, dividend, capital gain/loss to pass through? What about Sec 179 deductions or AMT adjustments? There a number of things that could be going on with the K-1s. Also, losses from a business are not capital losses (such as a sale of stock) subject to the $3000 net loss limit against ordinary income. However, business losses in a case like this can be subject to limitations on passive losses. In order to claim a loss there needs to be amounts at-risk and there needs to be basis....
by HouseStark
Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:26 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Other cell providers for existing Sprint smartphone?
Replies: 17
Views: 2242

Re: Other cell providers for existing Sprint smartphone?

MrMatt2532 wrote:Lucky you, you can switch to Ting (ting.com) and continue using your phone:
https://ting.com/blog/bring-a-sprint-de ... you-wanna/
In my ignorance, I really did not know the possibilities of moving an existing Sprint phone were so limited. The Ting.com service is an interesting proposition. I like its a la carte pricing approach.

My current Sprint Motorola Photon was free with the contract, so I haven't put anything into it, but I was hoping to avoid a future contract and also limit any new upfront phone expense.

I appreciate all the suggestions posted. I can see there are many options to investigate, but it appears I should be able to lower my monthly expense.
by HouseStark
Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I file 1040X?
Replies: 8
Views: 938

Re: Should I file 1040X?

$650 is alot of interest to accumulate. This interest was paid in 2011 and not in 2012? The sooner you file your 1040X, the better.
by HouseStark
Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:06 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Other cell providers for existing Sprint smartphone?
Replies: 17
Views: 2242

Other cell providers for existing Sprint smartphone?

What other providers or alternatives to Sprint are available using my current Motorola Photon smart phone once my contract expires in a few months? I'm paying $88/mo, including fees, for what is basically an unlimited voice and data plan. I use very limited texting, moderate broadband data (no video or music streaming) and limited voice minutes and I find $88 excessive. Ideally, I'd be able to be contract free and get my desired service for around $50 per month. Suggestions?
by HouseStark
Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Contribution to HSA & Roth Conversion
Replies: 4
Views: 561

Re: Contribution to HSA & Roth Conversion

I want to convert a portion of my TIRA to my Roth but stay within the upper limit of my tax bracket. My question is twofold. 1. If I contribute to my Health Saving Account (HSA) in the same tax year of the Roth conversion would that lower my taxable income thus allowing me to convert a larger amount to the Roth ? 2. Is it permissible to take the tax deduction for the HSA contribution in the same year I convert to Roth. To get back to the original question, there are no rules that would prevent you from taking a deduction for contributions to your HSA as a result of doing a Roth conversion in the same year. That strategy could achieve your desired result of increasing the "space" in your tax bracket. That all assumes, of course, t...